Canada to issue new Eid stamp April 24

By Denise McCarty

Canada Post is issuing its second Eid stamp April 24.

There will be no unveiling ceremony for this stamp, nor for any other Canadian stamps to be issued in April and May, according to Canada Post.

Canada’s first Eid stamp was issued May 24, 2017 (Scott 2998), to mark Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the two most important festivals in the Islamic calendar. That design included Arabic script that reads “Eid Mubarak,” which translates to “Have blessed Eid.”

The new nondenominated permanent rate stamp (currently 92¢) features the same greeting in Arabic calligraphy. The greeting is surrounded by Islamic geometric art in gold and turquoise with another pattern in turquoise in the background. Stars are predominant in the pattern.

The stamp also has the following inscriptions in gold: “Eid” in English in the upper left and Arabic in the upper right, “Canada” in the lower left, and the “P” and maple leaf emblem (to designate a permanent-rate stamp) in the lower right.

In announcing the stamp, Canada Post said, “Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are celebrated by Muslims around the world, including more than one million Muslims in Canada.”

Eid al-Fitr, which translates to “the festival of breaking the fast,” marks the end of the month-long Ramadan fast. This year Eid al-Fitr is scheduled to begin on the evening of May 23 and end on the evening of May 24.

Eid al-Adha, the “festival of sacrifice,” commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac as an act of obedience to God and also marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. This year, Eid al-Adha is scheduled to begin on the evening of July 30 and end on the evening of July 31.

Context Creative, a design firm based in Toronto, Ontario, designed the new Eid stamp, and Lowe-Martin printed it in booklets of 10. A total of 1.3 million stamps (130,000 booklets of 10) were printed.

Canada Post also is offering official first-day covers, with 7,000 FDCs serviced.

The product numbers are not available yet.

Canadian stamps and related items are available on the Canada Post website. Stamps and FDCs are available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

They also are available from many new-issue stamp dealers, and from Canada Post’s agent in the United States: Interpost, Box 400, Hewlett, NY 11557.

Canada Post reports that the shipping of standing orders in April will be delayed for several weeks.

Canada Post also said that as an essential service it “is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of its customers, employees and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since temporary changes have been made to how stamps are distributed to postal outlets, there is no guarantee that new issues will be available at all retail sites. To be sure you don’t miss anything, our online store is ready to take your order at canadapost.ca/shop.”

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